Electrical socket



Patented July 28, 1942 1 2,291,001 ELECTRICAL socri li' [News] a. Smith, Bloomfield, una imiit sRadio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application April 11, 1941, Serial No. 388,014

My invention relates to electrical receptacles, particularly to sockets for receiving the contact pins or male connecting elementsoi' such devices as radio tubes and-terminal plugs.

, In my copending application, Serial No. 265,091, filed March'3'1, 1939, and entitled Sockets, I describe a tubular one-piece female contactor for' sockets comprising around barrel portion for receiving contact pins and a round coaxial shank of reduced diameter. The barrel and shank of the contactor are swaged from a tube of large" diameter. Such a contactor cannot be passed i just clear the shank as it is through a hole in the socket body and the shank bent or crimped to lock the contactor in place without disturbing or distorting the adjacent metal in the walls of the contact barrel.

--An object of my invention isan improved socket with tubular female-contractors,

Another and'more specific object of my invention is animproved socket for receiving and retaining, by a positive look, a round one-piece female tubular contactor with an integral endto-end contact barreland shank.-

The characteristic features of my invention are defined in the appended claims and one em-' 4 Claims. (01. 173-328) ofsmaller diameter than the barrel. The-shoul der 8 Joining the shank andbarrel rides on a constricting ledge 9 formed. in the hole below the upper end of the hole the desired distance 'to' position the opening in the barrel below the top surface 'of the 'socketbody l, The ledge 9 maybe annular and concentric with. the hole5 or it may be rectangular as best shown'in, Fig-.

ure '2, with three straight edged ledge portions protruding intothehole, The minimum diametric distance between the ledges-is such as to pushed downwardly through the hole.

I provide, according my' invention, novel means for positively locking the contactors in the socket body, such means facilitatingrapid assembly of the contactorswiththe body and providing a positive 'lock' forthe contactor in l the body. The bottom surface of the socket body is curved at H and is, provided with a radially :extending groove '42 communicating with the lower end of opening 5. The width of the groove bodiment thereof is described in the following 3 specification and shown in the drawing in which: I Figure 1-is a vertical sectional view; along line accompanying l-| of Figure 2, of my improved socket,'showlng' a radio tube in place: r

Figure 2 Fi ure 1;

Figure '3 is a of Figure 1;

is a-top plane view of the socket of bottom plane view of the socket Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of one contactor adaptedto my improved socket; Figure 5 is a sectional view of the tubular contactor taken along'line 5-5 of Figure 4; and

Figures 6 and 7 are, respectively, sectional and side views of my socket and its fastening means in a metal chassis;

To facilitate the description of one embodi- 'ment of my socket, it is shown and described in combination with a radio tube. The tube I is conventionalin construction, having internal electrodes 2 connected to male contact members or pins 3 arranged, preferably, in a circle in the I base of the tube. The socket body I is of molded insulating material of ceramic, or commercial plastics such as Bakelite".and is provided with is sufficient to. receive the shank of thecontactor but is narrower than the enlargement ,or stop bead l3 swaged on the shank. The stop beads are spaced from the'shoulder 8 a distance slightly greater than the distance between the shoulder to-ledg'e bearing surface and the bottom plane. of the socket body. When the lower end of the shank I is bent radially outwardthrough angle a, the stop bead l3 rides outwardly over'the curved,

surface II. The round swaged shank oi" the contactor is'relatively stii! and cannot be straightenedto disengage the contactor fromthe socket body by ordinary handling in use; Engagement between the'sides of the shank and the sides of I the grooves l2 prevents rotationof the contactor about its longitudinal axis of the contact barrel.

Experience has shown that the contactor when locked will bend about a point between the shank and the barrel and that a bend angle a of or less will not spring or distort the barrel portion of the contactor.

The center of curvature 'of the'rou'nded portion of the socket body is preferably on the v center line of the contactbarrel. 'Thisrcenter the curved surface H at the edges of theradial a number of longitudinally extending holes 5."

Into the upper end of each hole is inserted a tubular female contactor with a round barrel" portion 6 and an integral round shank portion 1 of curvature may be either above or below the f bend point of the shank. If; this center is above thezbend point, the shoulderlof stop bead I3, as

it moves radially outward, will draw in toward slot and tighten the shoulder I of the barrel against its ledge 9, and immobilize the barrel.

If,'however, this center of curvature is below the bend pointof the shouldenstop bead I3 is car ried, as the shank is bent outwardly, away from the curved surface II. In some sockets it is desirable to permit limited freedom of the contact barrel in its hole so as to facilitate its alignment with the contact pins as they are inserted.

.10 the shank portion of the contractors but narless outside diameter than said barrel, said shank having an enlarged bead spaced below the shoulder portion that joins the .barrel and shank, a I

ledge in the hole engaging said shoulder, grooves in the bottom surface of said body extending radially of the body and intersectingsaid holes,

each shank being bent outwardly at an obtuse. angle into its'groove with thebead'of'eachshank 'overlying'said surface at theedges 'Of'its groove.

2. A socket comprising a cylindrical body of insulating material, said body having a hole lonrower than the stop bead I3. The sides. of the groove H are preferably parallel and, as viewed lengthwise of the socket body, see Figures 2 and.

3, the sides of the grooves intersect and pass within the circle defined by the contact barrel 6 and its hole. The shoulder thus provided on the lower surface of the socket'body deiiects the straight shank portion of the contactor as it is loaded into the socket and underlies the stop bead [3 when the c'ontactor is fully inserted and straightened in the socket. Minimum bending of the shank is thus required to'carry the bead I3 into locking'engagement with the edges ofthe groove 12. The grooves are convenientlymolded with their bottom portions flat'and in a common plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis'of the socket body, as shown. Thesefbotto'm por-' tions could, however, be inclined to the axis of the socket'body and parallel to the outwardly bent shank 'LfThese bottom portions, hence, may conveniently serve as stops for'the outward bending of the contactor shanks; I

Good results have been obtained in assembling sockets of'the type shown in which the socket bodyis'only .623 inch in diameter, and in which seven holes 5 are loaded with contactors having a barrel outside daimeter of .085 inch, a shank diameter of .045 inch and a stop bead diameter of .065 inch, the contactor being swaged fromv cooper or steel stock as thin as .02 inch.

The small socket of my invention is'conveniently locked in its chassis l4 as shown in Figures 6 and 7 by setting the socket into a round hole,

of a mean diameter equal to the diameter of the socket. Die cut lugs l5 integral with the sides of the hole in the chassis are struck up from its edges to admit the socket body. The lugs limay.

integral end-to-end contact barrel'and shank,

and is easy to make and assemble.

I claim: a 1 A socket comprising a cylindrical body of insulating material, said body having a plurality of parallel longitudinal holes arranged in a circle concentric with the body, a one-piece female gitudinally therethrough and a straight sided groove in the end surface of the body com- .municating with 'said hole, a female contactor comprising a tubular barrel open at one end to I receive a male contact element and having a relatively stiii tubular shankintegral with its other" end, said shank being of less diameter than said barrel, a bead on said shank spaced 7 material, said body having a-hole therethrough,

tubular contactor in each hole, each contactor comprising a. barrel portion to internally receive a contact pin and an integral round shank of from said other end of the barrei, said hole being slightly larger than said. barrel and having a.

. insulating body; being slightly less than the dis-.

tance between said bead and said shoulder, said shank beingv slightly bent near said shoulder to carry said, shank at least partially -,into' said groove. so that a portion of said bead overlies the edge of said groove. 1

3.'A socket. comprising a. body of insulating a tubular contactorhaving a contact'barrel and a shank, said shank-being of smaller ;transverse.

dimension thanthe barreland the shoulder obetweenth'e barrelandgshankriding on, ai'ledge in ,said ,hole, ,an enlargement on 1 said shank spaced from said shoulder, a relativelyi deep groove in said body intercepting said hole, 'said groovebeing, in width, intermediate .the trans verse dimensionsotthe shank and said enlargement, said shank being deflected slightly from the axis of saidbarrel into said groove-"sothat said enlargement overlies the edges ofithe groove.

4. .Asocket comprising .a ,body. of insulating material, said body having a hOIetherethrough, the bottom surface of said body opposite the end of said-hole being rounded, said hole having a constricting ledge intermediate its ends, a contactor in said hole, -said contactor having a shoulder, and a shank of reduced diameter, said shank havinga bead spaced from said shoulder,

said shoulder engaging said ledge to restrict" longitudinal movement of the' contactor-in one direction; a groove in the. bottom of-said body extending fromthe rounded surface to said hole and being of a depth only slightly less'than the distance between said'shoulder and said'bead,

movement in the other direction.

NEWELL R. SMITH; 

